Thinking About Repentance Is Not the Same as Repenting

Shaykh Bali was asked: is merely thinking of repentance itself repentance? In reply, he put forward just one condition.

How the Question Comes

Many people live with this inner struggle — the sin goes on, and at the same time the thought of repentance keeps circling in the mind.

The Shaykh gave the example of smoking. Someone smokes cigarettes every day, and every day says, “I have repented.” The Shaykh says — this man is not a repentant person.

So when will that same man become a repentant person? The Shaykh says — when he gives up cigarettes, feels remorse, and keeps asking for forgiveness.

In other words, the thought is the beginning, but not the end. The Shaykh set out the conditions in an orderly way.

The Shaykh's Answer

No one is a repentant person while the sin is still going on — first one must give it up, and only then comes repentance.

The conditions the Shaykh mentioned: giving up the sin; feeling remorse for that deed; and making istighfar whenever it comes to mind.

If the sin involves the rights of people — such as seizing someone's property or land, or theft — then along with repentance, returning that right is also a condition.

The Evidence — The Status of Remorse

النَّدَمُ تَوْبَةٌ

Remorse is repentance. (Sunan Ibn Majah — Shaykh Al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, graded it hasan)Copy

The Shaykh explains — if someone committed the sin once and then gave it up and felt remorse, this remorse of his is repentance; because it is the proof that he will not return to it.

What to Do

1. First, stop the act — repentance on the tongue does not stand before that.
2. Feel remorse from the heart for what you have done.
3. Make istighfar every time it comes to mind — do not get annoyed.
4. If people's rights are involved, return them or ask for forgiveness.

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Source: Based on a talk by Shaykh Waheed Abdussalam Bali

Translation and compilation: Raqi Faisal Ahmed Sabit — Al Qur'an Ruqyah Healing Center